An Inside Out Holiday
by Justin Bonesteel
Summary: Riley and her emotions celebrates Christmas in San Francisco
1. Chapter 1

**I thought the time was appropriate to start this new story now in the midst of the holiday season. So here is the newest story from me to you. Enjoy!**

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The temperature started to drop. San Francisco was met with chilly weather. December has dawned upon the city. But despite the cold weather, many people are happy since the holiday of Christmas is coming up, and one certain girl has no denial.

12-year-old Riley Anderson is in the living room of her house, cuddled by the fire, wrapped in a blanket, and sipping a mug of hot cocoa. Her parents are also there on the couch by the fire drinking hot cocoa as well.

Inside Riley's mind, her emotions are watching the whole thing from her point of view. Inside Headquarters, their Christmas tree is decorated from top to bottom with lights, ornaments, garlands and a star on top. There are also wrapped presents underneath them.

"Ah, what better way to celebrate the holidays." Joy commented.

"I agree." Sadness said.

Riley's father, Bill, came up with something to do since Christmas is coming.

"Riley?" he asked his daughter.

"Yes, dad?" Riley answered.

"I was thinking, since we haven't gone to any Christmas parties when we were in Minnesota, maybe we should have one here."

Once that idea was suggested, Joy presses the button on the console, causing Riley's face to light up with a smile. "Ooh, that's excellent! I like the sound of that!"

"Christmas is next week, so we better get planning." Jill spoke up.

Riley writes down possible needs and decorations for the party on a notebook with a pen.

"We'll need balloons, food, decorations, a karaoke machine, anything Christmasy." said Bill.

"And we're also inviting your grandparents and your friends, including Jordan." Jill spoke up.

As soon as Jordan's name was mentioned, Riley became even more excited as her smile grew wider. "Yes!"

"I bet I know why you're excited when I mentioned him. You have a crush on him, don't you?"

"Yes, Riley does have a crush on Jordan!" Joy exclaimed.

"She may have a crush on him, but now is not the right time to admit it yet." Disgust said as she took control of the console.

"What? No!" Riley said with a dismissal hand wave. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make some invitations."

And with that, she went upstairs to her room to start writing out invitations. With her making invitations and the party all mapped out, the Anderson family begin planning for their Christmas party.

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 **That's just the beginning of this Christmas story. I'm sorry if this chapter is too short, but I promise you that the other chapters will be longer as we move along.**

 **Can you believe this? The Andersons are planning a Christmas party at their home! I haven't had a Christmas party with my family in my life, but I do have Christmas parties with my co-workers almost every year at my workplace. Every Christmas Eve, my family and I have a gift exchange with our other relatives.**

 **That's all I have to say. Feel free to read, review, favorite and follow! See you in the next chapter!**


	2. You're Invited!

After entering the school building, Riley is in the hallway to her first class when she noticed a flyer on the wall. She walked towards it to get a closer look.

The flyer is advertising a Christmas program that will be held in the gym on Friday, the last day of school before winter break, and auditions will be held in the gym the day before the program. It also has blank lines for students who want to perform in the program to sign their names onto and what songs that want to sing.

A few students signed their names and songs that they will perform. Riley thought about if she wants to perform or not.

"Well, that flyer is advertising a Christmas program for students to perform in." Anger commented.

"This could be perfect because Riley has never sung in front of a crowd before." Joy said. "This could be her very first time."

"But what if she gets stage fright?" Fear asked.

"And what if she messes up during her performance?" Sadness also asked solemnly.

"Don't be silly, you two!" the star declared. "I'm positive she'll do perfect, and I know just the song for her to sing!" She runs over to the light bulbs, takes one out and inserts it into the console. It lights up as it sinks in while Riley's eyes light up as well. Then she takes a pen out of her backpack and signs her name and a song that she wants to sing onto the blank line on the flyer. Then she heads to her first class.

Later that day, when it was lunchtime, as Riley headed for the cafeteria, her friends, Susan and Amy approached her.

"Hey, Riley!" they greeted her.

"Hi, Susan and Amy." Riley answered as they went to lunch.

As they ate their lunch at a table, Amy said to her friends, "Hey, girls, you gotta see this. It's really funny!"

She shows them a YouTube video on her phone of a sabertooth cat singing "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".

Upon hearing it sing, the girls started laughing hardly like a pack of hyenas.

"Oh my god! That really cracks me up!" Riley said in-between her laughter.

"Me too!" Susan laughed.

After school ended for the day, as Riley, Susan and Amy exited the building, Riley pulls out several envelopes from her backpack.

"What's with the envelopes?" Amy asked.

Riley responds by handing them both an envelope. They open to reveal a card decked out in Christmas stickers and drawings with the words 'You're invited' in bold red and green letters.

"What's this?" Susan asked.

"They're invitations to my gift exchange on Christmas Eve and my Christmas party on Christmas Day." Riley answered.

"Oh, cool!" Amy exclaimed with delight. "What are you gonna have for your Christmas Day party?"

"We'll have food, hot chocolate, karaoke, movies, programs and we open gifts we have in the morning."

"That's cool. I'll be there."

"Count me in too." Susan spoke up.

"Great!" Riley said happily. "See you girls there."

As Riley turned around, she noticed her future boyfriend and soon-to-be crush, Jordan, about to leave the school grounds. Jordan sees her coming and smiles.

"Hey, Riley." he greeted. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to give you this." Riley replied. She then hands him an envelope with the same thing inside.

"I'm invited to what?"

"To my gift exchange on Christmas Eve and my Christmas party on Christmas Day."

"Ooh! Sounds fun! I'll be there."

Inside headquarters, Riley's emotions monitored the screen.

"Should we make her kiss him?" Joy asked.

"Uh, not yet." Fear said. "Now is not the time for her to admit her love to him yet."

"He's right, you know." Disgust agreed.

"Well, I'll see you there." Riley said to Jordan, then started walking away.

"Hey, Riley?" Jordan asked, getting Riley's attention.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"Did you sign up to perform in the Christmas program?"

"Yes."

"That's great. What are you going to sing?"

"You'll see. It's a surprise. Did you sign up?"

"No, because I get stage fright. But I'll be in the audience waving at you and watching you perform."

"Hmm. That's a bummer. Well, I guess I'll see you soon. Bye." She heads for home.

As soon as she opens the door to her house, her parents greet her.

"So, did you give out your invitations?" Bill asked.

"Yes, dad." Riley answered.

"Excellent."

"I should tell you. This party could be a very successful one if we do it right." Jill spoke up.

"I'm sure we'll do fine."

Later that evening, during dinner, Riley announced to her parents, "On the final day of school before Christmas break, we're having a Christmas program in the gym and we get to perform Christmas carols!"

"That's great, dear!" Jill said. "What are you going to sing?"

"You'll see. It's a surprise. You two will be there, right?"

"Of course we will, Riley. I've never seen my daughter sing in front of a crowd before, so I want to see you do that."

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 **So far so good. Riley is inviting her friends and Jordan to her gift exchange on Christmas Eve and her party on Christmas Day, and she signed up to perform in her school's Christmas program! What Christmas song is she going to sing? We'll have to wait and see! I'm not letting the cat out of the bag and spoiling the big surprise!**

 **Anyway, stay tuned next time for the next chapter.**


	3. Christmas Program

**Ho, ho, ho! How's your Christmas going? Mine is going great! Here's my gift to you: a new chapter for this story! Hope you enjoy it!**

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It is Thursday. Riley is reading a book with her class when the principal over the speaker announced, "Attention, students. For those of you who signed up to perform in the Christmas program, please report to the gym for auditions. Thank you."

Upon hearing this, Riley heads to the gym.

At the gym, when it was Riley's turn after a few students auditioned, she sang her song. The teacher of the audition fell in love with her singing voice.

(What sing is she singing? It's a surprise!)

"That was beautiful, Riley!" the teacher congratulated her. "I love it!"

Riley smiled widely at this.

Inside HQ, Joy said gleefully, "You hear that? He said she sang beautifully! That means she will sing good at the Christmas program! I should tell you, that show is going to be a success for Riley!"

"I'm sure it will." Anger agreed.

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The next day, at the final hour before school ends, all the students who are participating to perform in the Christmas program are gathered in the gym, along with the students' parents and the rest of the school.

After a few students have performed, it was Riley's turn.

"Up next, we have Riley Anderson!" the announcer announced. The audience cheered and applauded loudly for Riley, with Jordan and her parents being the loudest.

"Go, Riley!" Jordan shouted.

"You can do it, sweetie!" Jill encouraged her daughter.

"You sing beautifully!" Bill said cheerfully.

Riley took a drink of water from her water bottle before stepping onstage and walking up to the microphone. Her parents and Jordan wave at her, and she smiles as she waves back at them. Then she takes a deep breath and picks up the microphone and begins singing.

 _Hark! The herald angels sing  
Glory to the newborn king  
Peace on earth and mercy mild  
God and sinners reconciled_

 _Joyful all ye nations rise  
Join the triumph of the skies  
With angelic hosts proclaim,  
Christ is born in Bethelehem_

 _Hark! The herald angels sing  
Glory to the newborn king_

As her emotions monitored the screen, they admired her singing voice and Joy sang along.

 _Christ by highest heaven adored  
Christ the everlasting lord  
Wait in time, behold him come  
Offspring of a virgin's womb_

 _Veiled in flesh, the godhead see  
Hail the incarnate deity  
Pleased as man with men to dwell  
Jesus our Emmanuel_

 _Hark! The herald angels sing  
Glory to the newborn king_

As Riley sang, her parents recorded her with their cameras.

 _Hail the heaven born prince of peace  
Hail the son of righteousness  
Light and life to all he brings  
Risen with healing in his wings_

 _Mild he lays his glory by  
Born that man no more may die  
Born to raise the sons of earth  
Born to give them second birth_

 _Hark! The herald angels sing  
Glory to the newborn king_

After she finished singing, the audience erupted into loud cheering and applause. Riley smiles as she bows to her audience. "Thank you! Thank you!"

Jordan smiles with love in his heart while Bill and Jill cheered wildly, impressed by their daughter's singing.

Even Riley's emotions cheered and applauded.

"Bravo! Encore!" Disgust cheered.

"I really enjoyed that." Sadness commented as she smiled weakly.

"Not bad." Fear complimented.

As Riley and her parents walked to their car, Jordan ran up to her.

"Riley!" he called, getting her attention.

"Hi, Jordan!" Riley greeted him. "Did you like my singing?"

"Are you kidding? I loved it!"

The two share a heartfelt laugh while Riley's parents smiled as they watched.

"So, I'll see you at the gift exchange?" Riley asks Jordan.

"I'll see you then." Jordan replied.

"Good." They share a warm hug. After they pull away, Riley gets in the car with her parents and they drive home. On the way home, Riley sighs as if she's in love, which she is, and her loving smile remained stuck on her face the whole way home.

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 **Well, what do you know? Riley's performance at the Christmas program was a huge success! You know, I used to sing Christmas songs with my classmates and performed them publicly when I was in elementary school. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter because they next one will be the gift exchange.**

 **Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!**


	4. Gift Exchange

One week later, it is Christmas Eve.

Riley wakes up and goes downstairs to the living room to see her parents decorating the house. They're hanging lights around the corners of the ceiling.

"Good morning, monkey!" Bill greeted her.

"Are you hanging decorations?" Riley asked as she got herself a bowl of cereal.

"Yes. Your mom and I thought the atmosphere could use some holiday spirit since we're having company over tonight and tomorrow."

"Perfect timing because we need your help to set everything up." Jill said.

"See that box over there?" Bill asked.

"I see it." Riley replied.

"Open it and see what we got."

Riley sees an unopened box labeled "X-Mas decorations" and goes towards it. She opens the flaps and sees tons of decorations from lights, to bells, to stockings, even a mistletoe.

After decorating the house, Riley and her parents admired all that they put up.

In Headquarters, the emotions are watching the monitor.

"It's perfect!" Joy exclaimed with delight.

"Looks just right for Christmas Eve." Anger agreed.

"I agree." Sadness said.

Later that evening, the Andersons finished making dinner. They were having spaghetti and meatballs and made sure there was plenty enough for everyone.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Riley answers the door and her grandparents are there.

"Hi, Riley!" her grandfather greeted her, who greeted them in return.

Amy, Susan and Jordan followed.

"Hi, guys!" Riley greeted him with a bright smile. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

"We'll be spending every Christmas with you." Amy said as they walked in.

Riley's parents hugged their parents in as if they haven't seen each other for a long time.

Meanwhile, inside headquarters, which is also decorated from top to bottom for Christmas, Riley's emotions are excited for Christmas.

"I'll bet you all that this is going to be a great Christmas like last year!" Joy said brightly.

"Yes, but, unlike last year, she almost skipped out on Christmas since she barely had any friends to celebrate the holiday with." Sadness commented.

"No need to worry about that. She has just enough friends to hang out with."

For dinner, Riley, her parents, grandparents and friends were having the spaghetti and meatballs for the main course. Riley sat between Jordan and Susan.

"Mm." Susan said delightedly after she swallowed her food. "This is really good!"

"This is amazing!" Amy complimented.

"I wish my mouth was bigger." Grandpa spoke up.

After Riley and Jordan finished their spaghetti, they had pasta sauce all around their mouths. They wiped the sauce off with napkins.

Later on, Riley, her friends and family gathered in the living room for the gift exchange. They were given card numbers for who will go first and then next. Riley got #5.

"Alright! Gift exchanging, here we come!" Joy announced happily.

Since Bill got the first card, he went first and looked through the gifts until he found one that he wants to open. He opens it to reveal a box containing a mobile power outlet.

"A mobile power outlet!" he exclaimed amazedly. "Now, when I'm away from home, I can plug in my laptop and my portable DVD player!"

Everyone smiled at that statement.

When it was Riley's turn, she opened a gift, which was a portable radio which plays DVDs and music. When her emotions saw this, Joy presses the button on the console.

"Wow!" Riley said with a grin. "A radio that plays music on stations and DVDs! Now I have my own DVD player!"

"My aunt helped me buy it for you." Jordan said to her.

For the next few hours, Riley and her friends and family hung out together, playing games like Go Fish and Pictionary, listening to Christmas music and having cookies and brownies for dessert.

When it was time for bed, Bill and Jill slept in their bed. Grandma and Grandpa slept on an inflatable mattress right next to the bed. Amy and Susan slept on the couch in the living room.

Riley and Jordan changed into their sleeping clothes. While Jordan brushes his teeth in the bathroom, Riley climbs into bed. Jordan enters the room, climbs into bed beside her and wraps his arm around her.

The 12-year-old girl smiled once she felt her soon-to-be-boyfriend's arm around her.

"You excited for Christmas morning?" Jordan asked.

Riley smiled and nodded in response before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

The two future lovebirds slept peacefully with Jordan's arm around Riley, all snug and warm under the blanket and ready to open their presents in the morning.

"Aaaaand, we are out!" Joy announced triumphantly. "Nice job, Team Happy! This Christmas Eve is a huge success! Okay, off to bed now so we'll look our best for Christmas morning!"

With that, the other emotions went to bed while Joy did Dream Duty.

* * *

 **This Christmas Eve for Riley is a huge success! Every year, on Christmas Eve, my aunts, uncles and cousins come over to my place for visits. We have gift exchanges and Christmas Eve dinner. For Christmas Eve dinner, I have ham, turkey, macaroni, mashed potatoes, rolls, and brownies and cookies for dessert. At the gift exchange for this year, I got a box full of goody snacks and a Wal-Mart gift card.**

 **I planned to upload this on New Year's Day yesterday, but I had big plans to celebrate the new year that it got so late that I didn't have time to finish it.**

 **Now, there's only one chapter left, and that chapter will be on Christmas! See you later!**


	5. Christmas Party

Today was December 25th, Christmas Day. The sun was now shining through the windows of the Anderson house in San Francisco.

Amy and Susan were tiptoeing into Riley's room quietly and smiling with the joy of Christmas excitement filled their hearts and ran up to Riley's bed and began jumping on it to wake her and Jordan up.

"Riley, wake up! It's Christmas!" Amy cheered.

"Yeah, come on! We want to see what Santa got us!" Susan cheered. Riley chuckled as she turned to where her friends were jumping and opened her eyes.

"Hey, girls, Merry Christmas." Riley said as she and Jordan got out of bed.

"Your parents and grandparents are waiting for you. They want to see us open our presents." Amy said happily.

"I don't know about you, but I'm super happy and excited right now." Riley said as she got up and made her bed.

"Me too. I hope Santa brought us some awesome stuff." Jordan said as they all got dressed for their favorite holiday and time of year.

Meanwhile, in HQ, Joy is bouncing around happily as she played "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" on her accordion, awakening the other emotions.

"Merry Christmas, Team Happy!" she shouted cheerfully.

"Merry Christmas, Joy!" the other emotions shouted in unison.

"Now let's start the day with Riley and her friends opening their gifts!" the star said gleefully.

As Riley and Jordan came downstairs, they were holding hands lovingly.

Soon, everyone is gathered in the living room. Bill is wearing a Christmas sweater with a Christmas tree and Santa Claus on it while Jill wears a red blouse with snowflakes. Riley is wearing a red and green long-sleeved shirt. Susan and Amy are wearing Santa hats.

"You look good, Riley." Jordan complimented her.

"Thanks, Jordan." Riley replied with a giggle.

Before long, everyone started opening their presents.

Susan opens her gift which reveals to be a pair of white surround-sound headphones. "Cool!" she exclaimed in delight.

Amy opens her gift to see a set of two video games: Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.

"Awesome!" she said with a grin.

Riley's grandmother opens her gift to show a Taylor Swift CD and a makeup set.

"I love it!" she said with a big smile.

Riley's grandfather opens his gift to show a new gray sweatshirt and black shiny shoes.

"I bet I will look good in this." he commented.

Riley opens her gift to reveal a Demi Lovato CD and a picture of Jordan and Riley hanging out in the park.

"Aww. This is sweet." she said in awe as she looked at the photo.

Jordan then opens his gift which contains a brand new Just Dance video game.

"No way! Now I can dance along to my favorite songs!" he exclaimed delightedly.

Riley then smiles at Jordan as her father came near her.

"Look how happy you made him." he said.

"Yeah, but let's not tell Mom that we used her credit card." she whispered.

"Agreed."

An hour after the gifts were opened, everyone enjoyed themselves by eating the foods they made for the Christmas party and listening to Christmas music.

Riley spotted her karaoke machine that was used a few times today. Amy used it to sing "Get This Party Started" by P!nk, Susan used it to sing "Boom Clap" by Charli XCX, and Jordan used it to sing "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars.

"Your turn to sing, Riley." Jordan said.

Upon hearing this, Joy announced to her co-workers, "This is it, Team Happy! Time to make Riley shine!" She presses a button on the console.

Riley walked up to the machine and picked up the microphone. She browsed her karaoke CD collection before finding one and popping it into the disc drive.

"Testing." she spoke into the microphone.

Everyone stops what they're doing and focuses their attention to RIley. She then readies herself, hits the play button and the lyrics appear on the screen as the white letters turn blue as they're sung.

 _Chestnuts roasting on an open fire  
Jack Frost nipping at your nose  
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir  
And folks dressed up like Eskimos_

Jordan sighs lovingly as he watches his future girlfriend sing with her beautiful voice.

 _Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe  
Help to make the season bright  
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow  
Will find it hard to sleep tonight_

As the emotions watched the monitor showing her point of view, Joy sang along and Sadness mouthed along.

 _They know that Santa's on his way  
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh  
And every mother's child is gonna spy  
To see if reindeer really know how to fly_

 _And so I'm offering this simple phrase  
To kids from one to 92  
Although it's been said many times, many ways  
Merry Christmas to you._

Riley finishes the song to everyone applauding her. Her parents were so proud of their daughter's ability to sing. Her friends were blown away by her talent. They cheered with Jordan being the loudest. She walks up to them and is automatically trapped into a hug by Jordan.

"That was amazing, Riley! You sang so sweetly. I loved it!" he complimented her.

Riley blushes mildly as she returns the hug.

"Aww, thanks, Jordan."

"So, what do you think?" Joy asked the other emotions. "Did she do good?"

"She did awesome!" Disgust chimed.

"I'd like to see her perform on American Idol!" Anger commented.

Later that evening, the Anderson family and Riley's friends are watching Christmas specials and movies like 'The Polar Express', 'A Christmas Carol' and 'Elf'.

A short time later, Jordan whispered to Riley, "Riley, may I have a word with you privately?"

Riley follows Jordan into the kitchen.

"What is it, Jordan?" Riley asked.

Jordan takes a deep breath before beginning his confession.

"Riley, ever since I met you at the ice rink, we've been hanging out and became friends, and I've been having a crush on you. I was too nervous to admit back then."

Riley smiles at what he said before she too confessed, "I've been developing feelings for you too, Jordan. I was also nervous to admit it as well."

"Well, now that we both admitted our feelings to each other tonight, I have an extra gift for you."

"What's that?"

Jordan takes three roses out of his coat pocket and gives them to Riley, who gasps in surprise, covers her mouth and beams. She gently takes the roses and closed her eyes as she sniffed them.

"Thank you so much, Jordan!" Riley said happily.

"You're welcome." Jordan answered before he noticed something above them.

They looked and saw, to their surprise, a mistletoe hanging on the ceiling.

"Is that...?" Fear started to ask.

"Uh-huh, mistletoe!" Joy said enthusiastically.

"Oh, please don't tell me you're going to make Riley kiss Jordan." Disgust said. "Kissing makes me sick."

"I agree with her. Plus, I despise romance." Anger piped in.

"Criticize romance all you want, but I'm making Riley kiss Jordan, no questions asked." Joy goes over the light bulbs, pulls one out and inserts it into the console.

Riley and Jordan shared a warm smile before slowly leaning forward each other until they lock their lips together in a slow and passionate kiss. As they kissed, Riley wraps her arms around Jordan's neck while he wraps his arms around her waist.

Unknown to them, Bill and Jill are witnessing their daughter's first kiss from the living room entrance. They smiled widely as Bill puts his arm on his wife's shoulder.

20 seconds later, Riley and Jordan pulled away and stared at each other with deep blushes and smiled lightly as they walked away from the mistletoe.

Later that night, after Riley's grandparents and friends left, Riley went to bed while her parents clean up whatever is left of the party.

 **THE END**

* * *

 **Well, this is officially the end of this Christmas story. I hope you all enjoyed it. It was fun. So yeah, leave your reviews and hopefully, I'll see you guys soon.**


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